Ash tray



July 22, 1958 J. PARAfiRA 2,344,153

ASH TRAY Filed April 25, 1956 INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 United Sttes Patent ASH 'TRAY Julius Pararra, Bridgeport, Conn. Application April 25, 1956, Serial No. 580,588 3 Claims. (Cl. 131-240) This invention relates to an ash tray, and has for an object to the provision of such a tray of simple construction which will have safety and fire protection features, which will-hold a lighted cigarette and keep it in good condition, permitting it to burn uniformly from end to end and never get wet during the burning operation, to hold the lighted cigarette so that the lip end will not become contaminated with dirt or ashes, and which will provide access to the lighted cigarette for smoking purposes, and will positively prevent it from dropping from the tray onto a table or other support on which the tray may be resting.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I have devised theconstruction illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification. It is, however, to be understood the invention is not limited to the specific details of construction and arrangement shown, but may embody various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one form of tray;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof looking from the right of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section through a portion of the tray at the forward side of one of the cigarette rests and taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of one of the cigarette rests taken substantially on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a portion of a modified tray, and

Fig. 6 is a central transverse section thereof.

The first form of the ash tray comprises a body member 10 including a bottom wall 11 and side walls 12, the side walls being preferably inclined upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to their top edges 13, and these top edges being preferably longitudinally curved to prevent a user from trying to rest a cigarette thereon, which might drop off onto a surface on which the tray is resting. These bottom and side walls form a receptacle for ashes and butt ends of cigarettes, and located within this receptacle are one or more holders or rests 14 each forming a support or rest for a lighted cigarette. There may be one or more of these rests in a single tray or receptacle, that shown in Fig. 1 including four of these rests arranged in pairs on diagonal lines joining the corners of the body member.

These rests extend upwardly from the bottom wall 11 of the body, and each comprises a pair of laterally spaced upright walls 15 having narrow top edges 16 which are spaced slightly less than the diameter of a cigarette indicated at 17 so as to form a suitable support therefor and still not have the outer surfaces sufiiciently spaced to prevent easy gripping of the cigarette between a thumb and finger to lift it from the rest. These top edges 16 are each also convexly and longitudinally curved from :a. substantially horizontal portion 18 downwardly and outwardly to a location 19 at the inner side of the side walls 12, spaced inwardly and below the top edge 13. In

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this form the inner ends of the upright walls 15 are upright or substantially vertical, as indicated at 20, so that a lighted cigarette 17 resting on the substantially horizontal portion 18 may rest with its lighted end projecting inwardly from the inner ends of these walls 15 so that the ashes as the cigarette burns may drop into the tray or receptacle, as indicated at 21. The top edges are preferably continuously convexly curved from the top of the inner end 20 to the end 19 thereof where they join the side walls of the tray.

As will be seen from Fig. 3, the lighted cigarette 17 may be placed on the spaced edges 16 at their highest or substantially horizontal portion 18, and as the cigarette burns and the ashes fall it will gradually and progressively become overbalanced, with its outer unlighted end thus becoming heavier than the lighted end. The resulting shifting of the center of gravity of the cigarette will cause it to tip or roll outwardly and longitudinally along the curved supporting edges 16, as indicated by the cigarette in broken lines at 17a and 17b, until it finally shortens sufficiently to drop into the recess formed between the outer curved end 19 and the side wall of the receptacle, as shown at 17b. While the cigarette is resting on the curved edges a free circulation of air is permitted to reach the lighted cigarette through the space 22 between-the side walls 15, insuring a uniform and proper burning of the cigarette while it is supported thereon, and with the narrow edges 16 preventing accumulation ofmoisture or wetting or deterioration of the cigarette. This space 22 is of a size to provide sufficient room to receive ashes dropping from the burning cigarette after it ceases to overhang the end 20 without cutting 011 the supply of air to the burning end. Thus the cigarette if left on this rest burns uniformly to its opposite end, as previously described.

In all positions on the curved edges 16 the cigarette burns evenly because of the lair-circulating space 22 and maintains its normal dry condition at all times, but it may be readily lifted from the rest at any time for smoking, by a user merely grasping it between his thumb and a finger. Also there is no danger of the wetted or lip end of the cigarette coming in contact with the ashes to soil it at any time. The space 22 is preferably extended all the way down to the bottom of the tray to permit a larger space for free circulation of air to the lighted cigarette, and also provide sufiicient space for ashes to drop into it without interfering with this circu,

lation, to maintain uniform burning of the cigarette in all positions.

The tray may be made of any suitable material such, for example, as metal or plastic, but is preferably made of molded glass.

A slight modification is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In this form instead of making the rest terminate in an upright inner end wall, as indicated at 20, it is continued all the way across the tray or body, as indicated in Fig. 6, by the walls 23 corresponding to the walls 15 and having the convex top edge 24 on which a cigarette may rest. In other words, this comprises in effect two rests corresponding to the rest 14 of the first form, not separated at their inner ends, but continuous from the two opposite side walls 25 of the body member forming the receptacle. The central portion is substantially horizontal as shown at 26 corresponding to the portion 18 of the first form, with the top edges 24 convexly curved downwardly and outwardly from this portion toward each opposite side wall 25 and terminating adjacent thereto at ends 27 on the inner sides thereof and below the top edges 29 of the side walls corresponding to the point 19 in the first form. Thus the cigarette may be placed with its lighted end facing inwardly from either direction on these curved top edges, and it will gradually and uniformly burn and become progressively overbalanced and gradually tip and roll down these curved edges and end up with the short butt end resting in the end 27 the same as at19 as described in connec tion with the first form. The space 29 between these upright walls '23 provides the necessary circulation of air to keep the cigarette burning uniformly as it rests on the curved edges '24, and also provides space to receive the ashes as they drop from the cigarette.

Having-thus set forth the nature of my invention, I claim:

1, An ashtray comprising a body member including bottom and side walls forming a receptacle, a cigarette rest comprising two upright laterally spaced parallelwallsextending upwardly from the bottom wall, the upright Walls; being spaceda distance less than the diameter of a cigarette to form a restfor a lighted'cig-arette on their top edges, the space between these upright walls being sufiieient to receive ashes falling from the cigarette and supply airfor combustion to the burning end, and the edges of the upright walls being conveXly curved-towarda side wall and terminating below-its top edge thus forming a curved support for a lighted cigarette placed on these edges to cause it to tip as its inner end burns and becomes overbalanced' and rolls down the curved edgesto a position against the inner side of the sidewall.

'2. An ash tray comprising a body member including bottom and side walls forming a receptacle, a cigarette rest extendingupwardly from the bottom Wallcomprising a pair of laterally spaced parallel walls having top edges providing an air circulating space between them sufficient to supply air for combustion to a lighted cigarette resting on these edges and receive ashes. falling from the cigarette, said edges being spaced less than the diameter ofa cigarette to form a rest for the cigarette, and said top edges comprising a substantially horizontal portion to receive the cigarette and being convexly curved downwardly from said portion to a point below the top edge of a side wall forming a curved support for the cigarette placed on these edges permitting it to tip and roll gradually longitudinally down the curved edges to the inside of the side wall as the cigarette burns.

3. An ash tray comprising a body member including bottom and side walls forming a receptacle, a cigarette rest extending upwardly from the bottom comprising a pair of laterally spaced upright Walls having top edges spaced" laterally less than the diameter'of a cigarette providing a substantially horizontal rest for a lighted cigarette and an air space between them sufficient for circulation of air for combustion to said cigarette and to receive ashes falling therefrom, said walls having upright inner ends to permit a cigarette to rest on them with its lighted end overhanging the receptacle to permit the ashes to drop into it, and saidtop edges being convexly curved downwardly to a locationion the inner side of a side wall of the body below its-top edge to permit the cigarette to gradually become overbalanced to tip and roll downsaid' edges to the side wall as its lighted end burns and the ashes drop.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,948,025 Currier, Jr. Feb. 20, 1934, 2,7 0 H ll ----t--t- --t---v 1 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 455,445 Germany Feb. 3, 1928 

